HALL OF FAME INDUCTION 2019
PANAMANIAN
PRESIDENT DUE
AT INDUCTION
Cortizo To Arrive Early Sunday
To Attend Rivera’s Entry To Hall
COOPERSTOWN – Panama’s newly elected president, Laurentino Cortizo, will be in Cooperstown this weekend to attend the induction of his countryman, Mariano Rivera, into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, according to reports in Panama’s major newspapers.
Sworn in only on July 1, Cortizo is leaving Panama at 1 p.m. Saturday, will be in New York City by 7 p.m., and is scheduled to arrive in Cooperstown at 7:30 a.m. Sunday to participate in Rivera’s induction into the “Salón de la Fama del pelotero,” according to La Estrella, Panama’s oldest newspaper.
It describes Rivera, who was unanimously elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America his first time on the ballot, as “exlanzador de los Yankees de Nueva York y primer jugador de las Grandes Ligas” – the MLB’s number one player.
This is Cortizo’s first visit outside Panama since he took office July 1, and he also plans to meet with Citibank CEO Mike Corbat in New York City, and visit Lincoln Center.
No press availability locally is planned at this time, according to Hall spokesman Craig Muder.
A dozen cabinet members and legislators are accompanying Cortizo, including, specific to the Induction, Héctor Brands, president of the National Assembly’s Committee of Education, Sports and Culture.
The U.S. chief of state, then-President Obama, visited Cooperstown in 2014 while in office, but it is unclear when the last foreign head of state, if any, has visited Baseball’s Mecca.
It’s great that Panama’s president with be honoring Mariano Rivera. We love Mo! But why is he meeting with Citibank’s CEO and other investors in NYC later?… His campaign promises to undo contracts with companies and re-write the constitution are not ok. Investors should be cautious.